Internet

Recently at CES we learned of the coming deluge of the tablet/Pad computer. About fifty pad computers will be on the market by the end of this year. They for the most part will fall into two column’s. Either competing with the iPad or cheap. There are a few true iPad contenders. The Motorola Xoom and the Samsung Galaxy. Both have really functional operating systems and have decent battery life. The Galaxy is a bit smaller then the Xoom and iPad, similar in size to the Kindle (Amazon) & Nook (Barnes & Noble) readers.

But for me the fundamental change we shall see this year, is the movement from a static desktop computing society; to a truly mobile computing society. The rumblings of change started with the iPhone and with Skype, Facebook, and Netflix. With the iPhones success and the discovery that a mobile OS was the best way to go for tablet computing. Microsoft has been playing with this for the last ten years but failed by trying to develop desktop software for a mobile environment. Also software has relied on the Gamers for true development, hardware moved along slowly, but recently the SSD became cheap enough to produce for a mobile device. And again the iPhone gave the mobile networks the kick needed to move into the next stage of mobile computing. You can love or hate Apple, but without such impetus we would still be on clunky cell phones with a corny diluted internet.

The best thing about the new Pad computers is the reliability due to the better developed software, and SSD means no moving parts. With apps developed for these mobile devices the user experience is more structured; leaving much less room for viruses.

So do I have a Pad yet?

No I am waiting for the next round to finish, I love Apple products; because you have a true user experience and great innovation. But they usually wait until the third version to implement all the wonderful things into a product.

Recently there has been lots of attention to Wikileaks, and the founder Julian Assange.

WikiLeaks states that its “primary interest is in exposing oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. In this regard I am in total agreement with the organization, and would be the first to complain if it was targeted or hampered. In the past the organization has received awards for it’s postings.

I think recently I would say it’s gone a bit too far and has post fever! I cannot see why some of the leaks have been posted at all. It would seem that Wikileaks considers the American government, and military, to be an oppressive regime. I agreed with the disclosure of the Iraq war video and obvious murder of civilians. It was an injustice and needed to be brought to the publics attention.

Recently a list of Sites critical to the United States national security was leaked, this is where I start to wonder the motive for the disclosure. I fail to see who benefits from this disclosure other than terrorist groups. That is why I fear that Wikileaks although founded on great principles is going too far. Embarrassing nations will not bring about change, and to be honest diplomatic exchanges are personal and do not reflect government policy. Therefore it can be taken out of context, and this does nothing to change peoples lives.

I think by going too far, the information sources in the future will become harder to obtain. Governments are already cracking down on the way information is kept and monitored. So again I don’t know who Wikileaks has helped. The diplomatic community will forget the misgivings created by the mail disclosure. It’s the nature of diplomacy to be forgiving. The only one to come out badly in all this is possibly Julian Assange himself.